Little Known Jerusalem Home Mends Lives of Abandoned Tots

Very few of those who come to Jerusalem know the quiet little house in the suburb of M’her Chaim, where by dint of daily hard work and self sacrifice one of the most difficult, beautiful and important tasks of the national upbuilding is being tackled.

Dr. Rosa. Dukas, well known to German Zionists, lives and works in this house, having set herself the task of caring for children who have been abandoned or whose environment is a threat to their future happiness. In her little house she provides an appropriate, healthy atmosphere and prepares them for work on the land in Palestine.

NEAR CENTER OF CITY

Not far from Talpiot, ten minutes distant from the center of Jerusalem, the bus stops before a little white house. The street is a quiet one, reminding one more of the country than of the city. Little “country houses” with garden plots in front, a stately synagogue, bearded old Jews, and in the background, the beautiful hilly landscape. We are on the outskirts of the city, in a quarter that has been little touched by the developments of the past few years.

Rosa Dukas comes out to meet us, followed by four of her lads, who range in age from ten to thirteen years. A bundle of carpenter’s tools is in her arms. Her face beaming, she says that it has just been presented to her. It is hard to tell whom the gift has made happier, the boys or Dr. Dukas.

IS MOTHER, TEACHER, NURSE

She leads us into the house, where she lives with the children and is mother, teacher, nurse and everything else to them. In the meantime she relates the story of one of her charges, a story which differs very little from that of the rest of them. The father of the family was a beggar, the mother and children mistreated. In desperation the mother poured petroleum over herself and ignited it, intending to commit suicide. Yet when one sees the neat, black-eyed lad playing about in the garden, it is difficult to believe any of this.

Dr. Dukas unlocks the door of the house and shows us the kitchen, touching in its simplicity and charms. The round table with its neat cover might have stood in any home, and the prettily curtained cupboards can scarcely be recognized as the rude, rough packing boxes they really are. The children have covered them carefully with paint.

AT THE SUPPER TABLE

In the meantime, suppertime comes. Shmuel sets the table, Moshe lights the lamp, and the “family” sits down to the meal. During supper the children tell how they have spent their free hours (they spend the mornings in school). They speak of the talk they had with “Rosa” about Bialik, Arlosoroff, the kvutzos, and of the Friday evenings, when they sing songs and when “Rosa” tells them stories.

They describe their Saturday outings, on which they saw the Meshek Hapoaloth, the Aamath Rachel Kvutzo, and many other things. For Shabuoth they had been invited to Ben Shemen, which was especially nice. They also tell of Shmuel’s brother, who went to work on a farm several weeks ago and thus aroused the envy of the reat. All of them are being given instruction in gardening by a woman horticulturist who lives in the next house.

Whenever the youths revert to using Persian expressions in their speech (they are children of Persian Jews), “Rosa.” reminds them:

“Children, we are in Eretz Israel, and not in Persia!”

After the meal Rosa Dukas tells us the story of her home, and of her work at the social bureau of the Jewish community of Jerusalem, in the course of which she realized the terrible state of affairs when, in inconceivable poverty, “sound youth was disintegrating.” By a “miracle” this little house was placed at her disposal for a year. She tells how she got the “furniture” and boxes from her acquaintances among the German immigrants, and of small funds which are placed at her disposal.

Dr. Dukas has several patrons who participate in her work through small monthly sums. Now she is about to organize a group of supporters who will give her regular contributions of from five to ten piasters a month.

A glance into her carefully kept books is most revealing. With what small means the house is managed, and how carefully the food is chosen with a view to calories and vitamins. The complete furnishing of the home was accomplished at a cost of six pounds. (Blankets and linens were furnished by the Hadassah at a reduced price.)

Just before we leave, Rose Dukas tells us of Mordechai, the oldest of her charges, who went to work on a farm about a month ago. An orphan, he had lived in an overcrowded hovel until he was brought to Dr Dukas as “discontented and ill-humored.”